According to German Published Patent Application No. 101 39 693, in modern electronic devices in a vehicle which constantly offer additional functions with more and more options, multi-function operating elements, by which various functions of the connected devices can be controlled, have been created due to the limited installation space for the associated operating elements. Thus European Published Patent Application No. 0 366 132, for example, describes a multifunction operating device for motor vehicles, for which function groups and individual functions are selected with the aid of a rotary switch, and for which an ENTER function can be triggered, one and the same bidirectional rotary switch being used for selecting menus and individual functions. This rotary switch has click-stop positions, to which menus or individual functions are assigned, the ENTER function being able to be triggered by an axial motion of the rotary switch.
Furthermore, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0146037, for instance, describes implementing similar, menu-driven operating concepts by touch screens in a motor vehicle. In this context, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0146037 discloses an input device for a motor vehicle, which has a touch screen for the input of commands by touching a control panel or by exerting pressure on the control panel, an actuator for moving the touch screen in at least one direction with respect to a reference body, and a substantially U-shaped spring for the mechanical connection of the touch screen to the reference body.
German Published Patent Application No. 10 2006 029 506 discloses an input device for a motor vehicle, in which the input device includes a first display for the optical display of information, at least one second display, disposed above the first display, for the optical display of information, and a touch screen disposed above the second display, for inputting commands by touching a control panel of the touch screen, the second display being utilizable for the display of gesture recognition.
German Published Patent Application No. 103 42 666 discloses an operating system for a motor vehicle, which has an optical display unit for displaying at least one operating function, and at least one manual actuating device, which is assigned for operating the at least one displayed operating function of the optical display unit; at least one additional manual actuating device is provided and a sensor, which detects an approach towards the at least one additional actuating device, and an operating function assigned to the additional manual actuation device is able to be displayed on the optical display unit following the detected approach.
German Published Patent application No. 10 2005 035 111 discloses an operating and display system for a vehicle having a centrally disposed optical display unit, which simultaneously displays two different image outputs for different viewing angle ranges. A centrally placed operating element is provided and a detector unit, which detects an approach toward the central operating element as well as an operating action of the central operating element and assigns the detected operating action to a first viewing angle range or a second viewing angle range.
Additional operating concepts or man/machine interfaces are described in German Published Patent Application No. 197 53 742, German Published Patent Application No. 196 38 015, German Published Patent Application No. 10 2005 047 939, German Published Patent Application No. 10 2004 037 644, German Published Patent Application No. 10 2005 047 650, German Published Patent Application No. 10 2005 038 161, German Published Patent Application No. 10 2004 040 886, German Published Patent Application No. 10 2004 061 419, German Published Patent Application No. 103 24 579, German Published Patent Application No. 103 21 964, British Published Patent Application No. 2 418 741, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0125803, U.S. Pat. No. 7,030,861, PCT International Published Patent Application No. WO 97/18547, German Published Patent Application No. 197 02 225, U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,222, U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,104, U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,134, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0024592.